Homeschooling?

by mkr32208 43 Replies latest jw friends

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  JustTickledPink

  I was homeschool from grade 5 on through high school.

  I remember when my mom pulled me out of public school, she took us to a meeting with the school board and asked what the requirements were for home schooling. He told her that I could be educated on any topics/subjects as long as I passed the FL equivalency exam given by a state certified teacher. Conveniently, a local Brother was a state certified teacher and gave me a 1 hour equivalency exam every year. 90% of the test was oral. I kid you not. It was the easiest test ever. But her goal was to educate me and train me to become a missionary, to pioneer, or to serve at Bethel.

  Luckily, I have always liked to read, that is what saved me. I had no textbooks besides the publications, and I was pioneering the whole time. But, my mom did buy me a set of encyclopedias at a garage sale and I used to read them. I took my own self to the local community college when I turned 18 and passed my GED on my first try. Then I enrolled in classes. I had no math training and had to take remedial math but passed them all and went on to take college algebra and passed everything with A's.

  It wasn't until I got to community college that I started using my mind and learning to think. It was amazing, I never knew I was smart or could learn about biology, chemistry, or algebra. It was such an accomplishment for me, of course my mother still thinks that was the beginning of my demise. hahahaa...

  I have seen both though, great examples of dedicated parents and examples of just pioneering and training for "missionary" work... I remember being told I "didn't need any of that other education" to be a pioneer and serve where the need was great, that "Jehovah provides us with everything we need"
• 

  Doubtfully Yours

  Homeschooling can work! I've heard some pretty neat stories of homeschooled kids that have even made it to ivy league colleges. However, that's not the case of the JWs homeschooled kids.

  The homeschooling + the feeding of theories about worldly people at their 5 meetings per week = Socio-impaired children. It's awful!

  DY
• 

  target

  I homeschooled my son after 8th grade. I did it because he seemed to suffer from a lot of stress in school and was always sick. Once I got him out of that enviornment his health improved dramamtically. He went on to become a computer engineer and is a very social person. He also escaped from the borg. He has a wonderful wife who left the borg with him and three great kids. Life is wonderful for him. I have no regrets about homeschooling him. I saw others succeed also, but I know of some real disasters as well. It is true that some people have no business trying to teach anyone anything. I know of a couple of kids who were successful because of their own motivation, despite their parents being idiots.

  Target
• 

  roybatty

  Then I enrolled in classes. I had no math training and had to take remedial math but passed them all and went on to take college algebra and passed everything with A's.

  That's one reason I didn't see homeschooling as a long term plan. Who would teach my son calculus? I took it in college 20 years ago but I couldn't teach it to him. My then wife received straight A's in high school science but how would she teach our son physics?

  In our case, I believe it was a good foundation but I'm glad to see him playing school sports and involved with other acvities through the school. Something I believe he'd miss out on if he were homeschooled through his jr. high and high school years.
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  undercover

  My parents tried homeschooling. They did a trial run during the summer break to see if it would work. It was a total disaster. We were the worst students. How can you expect kids on summer break to sit still and learn math when they could hear all the neighborhood kids running around, playing? My parents gave up after two weeks.

  I have known several JW familes who have homeschooled their kids. It worked okay on a couple of them, but I think it stumped the social growth of the average kid. No interaction with other kids. No lessons in how to get along with other people. No lessons in accepting different cultures or backgrounds. No experience in handling opposition to the "truth" even. So when these 18 year olds "graduated" from Mom's High School and were dumped into the work force with absolutely no social skills and even worse, a complete dread and fear of anything "worldly" it created a psychotic and warped personality. Just my .02
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  Scarlet

  My aunt who dropped out of school in the 7th grade to pioneer and can barely hold an adult conversation plans on homeschooling her childern after they are done with elementry school which i should say that those kids are barely passing that they have to go to summer school every year for poor grades. I can't imagine her homeschooling these children I feel so bad for them. She can't help them with their homework now and they are in Kindergarten and Third grade how the hell is she going to home school them. My sister went to a school that you only go to 4 hours a week in for her last 3 years of highschool and she finished in two. But this was done thru the state and she had to test on everything and is a very self motivated person. Her goal was to finish high school early so she could move on to college. If your child is like my sister I can see allowing them to do something like that but a woman with a 7th grade education and her husband has a 9th grade education should not be teaching their children.
• 

  mkr32208

  I was homeschool from grade 5 on through high school.

  I KNEW there was SOMETHING wrong with you Pinkled tink!
• 

  LDH

  Balsam, I hope you two are coping. How tragic.

  I will preface my remarks by saying that for my daughter's 5th grade, we moved two-thirds of the way through the school year. I didn't want to have her deal with the stress of new school, friends, etc for two months so we just waited and I homeschooled her under the direction of the Public School System.

  DY says

  I've heard some pretty neat stories of homeschooled kids that have even made it to ivy league colleges.

  Of course, that wasn't accidental. it was done with a goal in mind. I agree with you.

  The goal most parents have is mind is isolation and mind control. The recent tragedy with Mario's family and the children who were home-schooled is a perfect example. His ex-wife was a control freak, and in no way capable of teaching a family of fleas, much less her two daughters.

  Here in CA, most of the homeschooled kids are either Juvenile Delinquents (no choice--kicked out)or children of 'christians' who don't want to expose their kid to the world.

  The thing is, you can't ISOLATE your child from the world forever. You can INSULATE them from being swayed by the world in general. Pretty much my take on it is that you have to teach them to fire-walk without getting burned. Homeschooling will never do that.

  Also just because your kid goes to public school does NOT MEAN you are not a contributor. In our home, for the first 12 years, I was the primary educator and set the teacher's expectation to be such that they were supporting me. By the time your child is of high school age, they should be self-directing their studies with little to no involvement from the parent, if you have successfully taught discipline and responsibility.

  The problem for lots of kids of elementary and middle school level is that they get lost due to the fact that the teacher is teaching to the lowest common denominator, or the state standard.If you have standards that are higher than the state's, by all means let your child's teacher know. The more involved you are, the better adjusted and educated your child will be.

  My 14 y/o did go to Montessori Academy (private) for several years--and then transitioned into public school at age 6, where they placed her in first grade. Within three weeks she was moved to third grade. She is now in tenth grade and will not be 15 until the end of the school year.

  Lisa

  No fan of Home-Schooling.
• 

  obiwan

  Home School!! Oh, don't get me started on that...Jebus Christ!
• 

  Eyebrow2

  It depends on the situation. I knew a couple that homeschooled their two kids when they moved into a really sucky school district. The mom was a cracker jack though, and fully understood their rights. Even thought they were homeschooled, they still had the right to participate in extra activities such as band and sports. She was a brazen woman hahaha. They were basically waiting for openings for a hoitey toity prep school across the river in another state to have an opening.

  I have known others that did a knock up job, and others, that didn't. I have two brothers that homeschooled. One did it through the mail...so actually had tests...but he never finished. The other had a plan put togehter but didn't do it. It didn't work for my brothers. Again, I think it depends on the situation. I talked to a friend tonight that knows a couple that have two kids that have learning disabilities. The mom teaches them at home, but then the kids go a couple times a week for professional help with their disability. For them, it seems to be working. I don't know if it is the long term answer.

  Me...hell I had 4.5 years of high school and still ended up getting the GED hahah...I did go to college for a few years...but never finished. I am so glad I wasn't homeschooled. But there are a lot of active homeschooling groups where parents and kids get together several times a month for field trips group learning and other activities, so it is not as isolated as some would think.